Beware of ideologically driven writers who attempt to “get to the truth.” As one who is constantly trying to set the record straight on education issues, I am drawn to pieces like “5 Biggest Lies About America’s Public Schools – Debunked.” This article, courtesy of the popular leftist ezine AlterNet, reveals its POV in the...
Among the many Californians who only occasionally vote in elections, how many understand what they’re doing when they vote for a “bond measure” for a K-12 school district or community college district? They know it’s “for the kids,” but do they know that when they authorize a school district to sell bonds to fund construction, it...
It is hard for education reformers to be too optimistic about the post-strike prospects for Chicago schools. The resulting contract significantly boosts teacher pay in exchange for some modest changes such as a lengthened school day and improved teacher testing. As school officials figure out how to pay for the new deal and bolster vastly...
Getting the facts to people who have been lied to for decades is essential for change. In my latest City Journal post, I argue in favor of an initiative that will be on the ballot in California in November. Proposition 32, which will appear on the November general-election ballot, would ban unions and most corporations...
Even with a “victory” in Chicago, teachers unions are still under attack, and their buzz words, doublespeak and bunkum are becoming ever so transparent. After striking Chicago teachers went back to work last Wednesday following cialis super active a seven day walk-out, their union declared a victory. While the school district did get some concessions,...
A word that is not in the dictionary but should be, “povertism” aptly describes the philosophy of the “povertists,” aka the “poverty is destiny” crowd. It is claimed by many that poverty leads to a myriad of personal and social ills. The regnant theme of these poverty cultists is that until we eradicate poverty, unemployment,...
Chicago’s public school teachers went on strike last week over a modest plan to extend their work day and subject them to the type of standardized performance testing they typically administer to students. The walkout provided a fresh reminder that teachers unions exist to expand the pay and protections for teachers, not to help “the...
Hell no. It’s time to stop pouring money into a bottomless pit. Not a week goes by without a gloom and doom story on the National Education Association website exhorting us to “invest” more in education lest the children of America be shortchanged. For the educrats and unionistas who are still trying to sell this...
Election results for recent ballot measures in the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, and El Cajon and in the County of San Diego confirm consistent poll results showing that California voters want their local government officials to solicit bids for taxpayer-funded construction contracts under fair and open competition. They don’t want their local governments to require their contractors to sign...
Showing how painful the truth can be, AFT boss Randi Weingarten goes bonkers over a new film in which a teachers union is presented fairly. Won’t Back Down, a movie due to open nationally on September 28th, centers around two determined mothers, one a bartender and the other a teacher, who team up and try...
Three members of the Douglas County School Board have floated proposals to terminate dealings with teacher’s unions. Three board members proposed three separate ballot questions, each chipping away at what have been traditional district-union relationships in the affluent county south of Denver. Should the district be prohibited from using public funding for the compensation of...
An audacious article asserting that teachers unions are good for kids may have fooled some people fifty years ago but now should be viewed as a modern fairy tale. AlterNet, a far left website that among other things extols the virtues of Communist wretch Howard Zinn, posted an article by Kristin Rawls – are you...
Teacher union bosses’ hypocrisy plunges to new depths. After the recent congressional vote to keep the Bush-era tax cuts in place, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel lamented on the union’s website, Today House Republican leadership gave the richest two percent another handout, while pulling the rug out from under millions of children and...
According to a recent study, many public schools do not retain their best teachers – the “irreplaceables.” Is anyone surprised? A study released a couple of weeks ago by the New Teacher Project – now known as TNTP – claims that urban schools…. …are systematically neglecting their best teachers, losing tens of thousands every year...